Chamise

Description

Adenostoma fasciculatum, commonly known as chamise or greasewood, is a flowering plant native to California and Baja California. This shrub is one of the most widespread plants of the California chaparral ecoregion. Chamise produces a specialized lignotuber underground and at the base of the stem, known as a burl, that allow it to resprout after fire has off burned its stems. It is noted for its greasy, resinous foliage, and its status as one of California's most iconic chaparral shrubs. It is a shrub with long, arching stems of brown to gray bark, and is usually less than 4 meters high. It is diffusely branched and spreading in habit, with some forms prostrate. The stems are slender, numerous, and erect, and generally lack permanent branches. The young stems have reddish bark, and become gray with exfoliating bark in later age. The stems are resinous, oily, and glabrous to puberulent, with stipules less than 1.5 mm. Emerging from the stems are alternate spirally arranged leaves, and sometimes branches. The leaves are linear, often 5 to 10 mm long, and shaped like needles.They are shaped nearly round in cross section, and end apiculate, or with a sharp tip.The leaves are evergreen, heavily sclerified, and may also come in a sickle-shape. The inflorescence is dense to open, up to 17 cm long, and with 1 to 3 bractlets. Suspended on short pedicels 0 to 1.1 mm long are the flowers. The flowers are small, white, and inconspicuous yet showy. The flowers have 5 petals and 5 calyx lobes, with the calyx lobes alternately arranged around the corolla.The calyx lobes are wider than they are long.There are 10 to 15 stamens, which occur in cylindrical to pyramid-shaped panicles at the tips of branches. The terminal clusters of flowers are 2.5 to 10 cm long. The petals are retained into fruit maturation, turning a rusty brown color.The hypanthium is 0.8 to 3.2 mm large, and strongly 10-ribbed. The fruit is a small, ovoid achene, which develops within the hypanthium and disperses with the hypanthium as a single unit.